Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Lucas half listened as Brendan and Greg figured out their strategy. Rather than just sit and listen, he got the bread and cheese to make the sandwiches.
“Can I help?” Jameson asked. He had become Lucas’s little helper in the kitchen.
There was always something that Jameson could do, so Lucas had him open the cheese slices while he buttered the bread.
Some of the cheese came out in pieces, but Lucas put them on the bread and set the buttered sandwiches on the tray.
Then he heated up the pan and got the sandwiches cooking.
“What’s the rule about pans and the stove?” Lucas asked Jameson.
“No touch,” he said, and pulled his hands back.
Lucas grinned at him. “Perfect.” He turned the sandwiches. “Look at those.”
“Yummy,” Jameson said, and jumped down from his stool. “We make crunchy cheese.”
Lucas got plates and took the finished sandwiches out of the pan. He cut Jameson’s in quarters and put it in front of him. Then he took the other and gave it to Brendan, who finished his call and sat the phone on the table.
“Greg is going to stop by on his way home.” He took a bite of the sandwich. “Thank you for cooking… again.” He smiled.
“Lucas cooks good,” Jameson said with a cheesy smile.
“Better than me?” Brendan asked, cheekily.
Jameson didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
Lucas laughed and held up his hand. Jameson gave him a high five and then broke into giggles.
Brendan, thankfully, took it good-naturedly.
Lucas got a glass of apple juice and mugs of coffee before sitting down with his sandwiches.
“What a morning. It seems like we’ve had so much happen already today.
” It almost seemed like they should be having dinner for as much time it felt like had passed.
“Yeah. I’m worn out, and I’m supposed to teach a class this evening, but if this rain doesn’t let up, I swear we’re all going to wash away.”
“Do you go ahead with classes even though it’s raining?” Lucas asked.
“Probably not. I have my young riders tonight, and the last thing I want is for them to get sick. I probably would hold class if it were the adults because they know how to dress for this kind of weather.” He looked out the window as the rain continued coming down.
It wasn’t pouring, but steady and just enough to make everything wet and drippy.
“What do we have to do this afternoon?” Lucas asked. “I know you wanted to relocate the goats, but today probably isn’t the best time for that.”
“No. The animals are pretty much bedded down with the wet. All the horses are inside and dry. Tomorrow there will be a number of them that will need exercise, but for today, they’re fine.
I’ll need to spot-check the stalls, because with all the horses in the barn, they make a lot of poop, and I hate a stinky barn. ”
“Daddy, you said poop.” Jameson chimed up.
“Yes, I did.
“That’s a bad word.”
“Why?” Brendan asked. “Horses poop, goats poop, so do the chickens. You poop too. With a home like this with lots of animals, there’s lots of poop. Daddy has to shovel it out of the barn so it stays clean.”
“Ewwww,” Jameson said, and Lucas chuckled. Sometimes you just can’t fight a four-year-old.
Lucas finished his lunch and took the dishes to the sink. What he wanted was to have a quiet, rainy afternoon, but somehow he wasn’t going to get that. So he grabbed Jameson, hoisting him high, getting a ton of giggles. “You go help Daddy with the poop. You need to put on your raincoat and boots.”
“Okay. But I won’t touch poop.” He hurried away.
“What is it with four-year-olds and poop?” Lucas asked, turning off the water.
Brendan shook his head. “I wish to heck I knew.” Brendan wound his arms around him, pressing to his back. “On an unrelated subject, you really feel good.” He rested his head against Lucas’s shoulders. “It’s really nice like this.”
Heat rose inside of Lucas, but instead to going white-hot, it stayed at simmer, nice and pleasant.
Lucas knew that all he had to do was turn around and taste Brendan’s sweet lips and he would be on fire, but that wasn’t what he wanted, not right now.
Brendan obviously needed to take things slower, and he was fine with that.
Lucas turned off the water and slowly faced Brendan. Then he hugged him, and they stood together. “You know, it isn’t going to be too long and then you aren’t going to need me anymore. We’ve figured out who was behind the issues you’ve been having, and that was why you asked me here.”
Brendan snorted, the most unsexy sound Lucas had ever heard, and yet it made him smile. “How well do you know Greg?”
“I’ve known him for a long time. Why?” Lucas asked, and then groaned. “Jesus, do you really think… of course that’s what happened.” He pulled back. “How could I have fallen for the classic Greg fixup?” He began to laugh. “Whenever Greg is happily coupled up, he wants everyone else to be the same.”
“I’ve heard that,” Brendan said.
“Yeah. Greg is a yenta at heart. He tried to fix me up a few times before, but I wasn’t interested.
When you work in a club, you are working when everyone else is playing, and then you go home, sleep, and get up to do it all over again.
When everyone else wanted to go to lunch or dinner, I was sleeping or trying to get the things done that everyone else did during the day so I could go to work.
And I was never interested in dating the guys at the club.
I slept with a few of them because I was lonely and they were on offer, but I never found anyone who I was interested in. Not like this.”
Brendan swallowed hard. “You’re really interested in me… in us? This isn’t some kind of… I don’t know… loneliness or just being out here?”
“I’m not a liar and I don’t lead people on,” Lucas said firmly.
“I didn’t think you did. It’s just that… most guys aren’t interested in a guy who comes with a four-year-old in tow.”
“I’m not most guys. I know you and I haven’t known each other long, but you should be able to see that.”
“I do. But I have to be able to trust it, and that takes time. Jameson and I have been through a lot. He’s a four-year-old who loves his mother, but doesn’t really trust her. If she’s here and tells him something, Jameson looks to me to tell him if it’s true. I think that is kind of sad.”
“I know it is. But I’m not like her.”
Brendan snickered. “I’m very aware of that.
Just give us time. It’s pretty clear that Jameson likes you, and I do too.
I really do. I like having you here, and how you just seem to fit.
Damn it all, what I think scares me the most is that I could fall for you.
And what do I do when you decide you need something more than our boring lives?
” The fear in Brendan’s eyes was so real.
“Hey.” Lucas tugged him closer. “I know you’re scared right now.
There’s been a lot happening. But know this—I will tell you what I want.
I like it here, and if something changes about that, I’ll tell you.
I’m not going to shut you out. That is not the kind of guy I am.
I try to be open and honest with people. ”
Brendan turned to look into the other room.
Lucas did the same. Jameson was putting on his boots, so Lucas took the chance to kiss Brendan hard, holding him close, feeling the tension in his body ease as he finally let go of the worry and just went with the heat between them.
Lucas feasted on those lips, before backing away, breathless.
“Well, I got that message loud and clear,” Brendan said softly.
The rain had finally let up, and the sun seemed to be trying to break through the clouds.
“I know you have things to do, and I want to finish looking through the footage before Greg gets here. But maybe you and I can pick things up later.” He took a deep breath to calm himself before returning to his computer.
Brendan left the house, holding Jameson’s hand, both of them getting back to work, but Lucas found it hard to concentrate, his mind going back to Brendan.
Lucas was sitting at the kitchen table when Brendan returned. “Is Greg here yet?” He had spent hours going through the video, making copies of the pertinent sections to show to the attorney.
“Not yet. But everything has settled down. The riders are happy. I’ve fielded a few calls, but mostly, they were concerned for the horses as well as us, making sure we’re okay.
I even had a few offers from people willing to spend the night in the barn to make sure there isn’t a repeat.
I honestly didn’t expect this type of support. ”
“Why not? You’re a good man. How many people have you helped over the years? How many kids did you let work off their riding lessons because they couldn’t afford them otherwise?”
“Quite a few, I guess.”
Lucas took his hand. “So don’t be so shocked when these same people just want to pay you back. Kindness breeds kindness. At least I believe that.”
Brendan sighed back into his chair. He looked worn out.
“Daddy,” Jameson said as he hurried in and climbed onto his lap. “Are the horsies okay? Did the baby come?”
“No. Not yet. If I know it’s coming, I’ll get you so you can see it.” He kissed him lightly, and Jameson hurried away just as quickly.
“I take it you’ll let him see the new foal, but not the actual birth,” Lucas said.
“Yes. He’s a little young for that. I feel like it could be any day, though.
When I feel her sides, I can tell that her body is going through the preparations for birth.
But I don’t think she’s in full labor yet.
” Brendan leaned against his shoulder. “Most likely the foal will come at night when no one is around, and we’ll come into the barn in the morning with a new addition. ”
“I was going ask if you breed any of your horses.”
“Yes. I’m thinking of breeding Lollipop come spring.”
“Why wait until then?” Lucas asked.
“Because horse gestation takes eleven months, and if I breed her in May, then she would give birth the following April. Jameson will be six, and by the time the foal is ready to be ridden, he’ll be eight or nine, and the foal can be his horse.
They’ll grow up together, and Jameson will learn to care for it.
If I’m lucky, they’ll be best friends just like I was with my first horse. ”
“A car just came in,” Jameson announced.
“It’s Mr. Greg.” Jameson shot to the front door as Brendan got up from his chair.
“I let him in.” Lucas couldn’t help smiling at the cuteness.
Brendan went to greet him, and Lucas stayed where he was, knowing that Brendan might have things to talk over with the lawyer that he didn’t want him to hear.
“So you found something,” Greg said a few minutes later. Lucas stood as Greg came in, and they hugged before sitting at the table. Jameson was back with his Legos, after announcing that he was making a “Hellephant.”
“Do you want a beer, water, maybe coffee?” Brendan asked.
“Water would be great. I’ve been talking all day, and my throat is sore. I gave a series of lectures at the law school, and my voice is coming to its end.”
Brendan got him a glass of iced water.
Lucas turned the computer so they could all see it, and once Brendan sat down, he started the clips of what he’d pieced together.
“He showed up a little before five in the morning, coming around the side of the house,” Lucas explained and let the various clips run all the way through. “We pulled some stills out of the video, and I have them right here.” He ran through them.
“Those are Jenn’s brother, Henry. I’ve known him almost as long as I’ve known Jenn. He still lives with his mother because he could never get his act together enough to get a life of his own. The thing is, I’m not sure if Jenn or her mother put him up to this. It could be either one.”
“Okay,” Greg said. “What we have is really good, and I can take this to the prosecutor’s office along with statements regarding the rest of the incidents that have happened.
What I’d like you to do first is call the police.
That way you can make a report and we can get their investigative help.
Go ahead and do that now.” He gave Brendan the nonemergency number, and he stepped out of the room.
“Here’s my worry,” Lucas said in a soft voice. “What crime has really been committed? All the horses were returned and none of them were injured, thank goodness. So other than a few hours’ inconvenience, there is no damage. I don’t know what we really have here.”
“Criminal trespass is a possibility, but I think the most likely is criminal mischief. It’s tampering in a way that could cause harm or damage to property.
We would need to prove intent, but I think we have that with the video.
It wasn’t like they were here and the animals were let out by accident.
These actions were intentional, and that carries a penalty.
So we can get something quite serious out of this. ”
Brendan returned and sat down. “They said they’d be here as soon as they could.”
The doorbell rang. “I get it,” Jameson called and ran to the door.
Brendan hurried after him, and when he didn’t return right away, Lucas followed. What the heck had happened now?